Blossoming
by ShadyWillow
Summary: He'd stopped noticing, she'd stopped trying. Story of friendship, romance and KakaSaku. - No beta. I've been out of this for a while. Please be gentle.
1. Chapter 1

Haruno Sakura was undoubtedly the most talented medic the leaf was honoured with since Tsunade. Not only had she learned everything her mentor had to teach but she was also at the forefront of medical developments. Her skills were being requested by nations far and wide to cure illnesses and diseases.

Sakura wasn't just a talented medic, she was a fearsome kunoichi. Her brief time serving under Kakashi as her sensei and then with Yamato, allowed her to hone her monstrous strength in battle. In the hospital she was a leader and a teacher. It had been a few years since she'd been out on a mission, she missed it but didn't see herself ever returning to field duty unless there was another war.

It didn't come as much of a surprise to her when Tsunade summoned her via ANBU messenger, in the middle of the night, to request her presence. What did surprise her was that it was for an unranked medical mission.

"Sakura." She began. Her tone suggested she was in no mood to be actioning this request at this hour of the morning, but duty and want didn't often go hand in hand. "The Yondaime Raikage has fallen very suddenly ill from a suspected poisoning and Kumogakure have requested your urgent assistance in trying to save his life. Naturally, they are wanting us to analyse the poison and determine where the threat has come from. Needless to say, this is a crucial mission to fortify out already rocky relationship with them. They have requested you and an ANBU squad to investigate." Sakura wasn't sure if the elongated sentences were due to the time or if Tsunade was still drunk.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably in front of her mentor, both women in their lounge wear trying not to yawn.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you much more notice, I'm sure you can appreciate the urgency with this. I can give you 30 minutes to gather your belongings for a mission and I will have one of the nurses pull together a field kit and lab kit for you. The ANBU commander and his team will be waiting for you here to teleport with a transportation scroll to the edge of leave border. The more time we can save, the better. This is a mission as well Haruno and I will be promoting you to Jonin for this. Make sure you bring your uniform and battle gear. Any questions before you leave?"

Sakura blinked a moment as she tried to process the information. "No, shishou. Thank you, shishou."

"Well, get going girl." The Hokage shooed her out the office. Sakura turned to leave, forgetting to bow in acknowledgement to her promotion and ran back to her apartment. Tsunade smiled. She was damn proud of the young girl. Her smile quickly turned back to a stoic expression as she rallied the ANBU squad needed.

Sakura was still half asleep as she packed her bag. It had been months since she'd needed her ninja pouches. She was grateful for Kakashi's tutelage at that point. He'd always told them to restock and be prepared at any moment and so Sakura always did just that. Making sure she restocked and repacked her kit after any training session or mission.

She donned her green flak jacket and smiled as the realisation sunk in that she had just been promoted to Jonin. The first of her peers. Excluding Shikamaru, but really he didn't count, he was wise beyond his years. She gathered her own personal medical equipment and scrolls and sealed them with a packing jutsu along with clothing and extra weaponry. She slotted the scrolls into the pack resting in the small of her back and fastened her leg packs over her shorts. She tied her leaf headband around her head, something she also hadn't needed to do for a while. Her final item was her black gloves that had been a gift from Tsunade.

Kakashi and his team stood silently in the Hokage's office, waiting for their fourth team member. It wasn't unheard of to have a Jonin medic on an ANBU squad but it was certainly unusual. Kakashi wore his white travelling cloak and his team members wore black. Tsunade had a black one ready for Sakura.

Kakashi read the mission scroll to memorise the details, he was glad his mask hid his expression as he saw her name printed underneath his, Dr Haruno Sakura Jonin Medic-nin. A doctor and a Jonin. He felt a pang of guilt as he realised he hadn't congratulated her on either of her titles.

Sakura didn't knock to enter the office, Tsunade being her mentor afforded her that privilege. She glanced over at the hound masked captain with strikingly familiar white hair.

"We don't have much time for introductions, you can acquaint yourselves properly on the journey. ANBU Captain Inu, Dr Haruno Sakura Jonin medic, ANBU Tenzou, ANBU Karasu," they stood to attention as she stated their names. "This transportation scroll will take you as close to the leaf border as we can get you. I cannot stress the importance of how time critical the beginning of this mission is. You get her there, and quickly." She aimed at the ANBU and unrolled the scrolls, handing Sakura a cloak. By the time Sakura had finished fastening the clasp, they were already at the ANBU outpost on the border.

Kakashi quickly turned to face his team. "We will travel in triangle formation around Sakura straight to Kumogakure. The summons states we will be met at their village entrance with an escort to where the Yondaime Raikage is. We should make it in 4 or 5 hours at full pace. Sakura can you maintain that pace and perform your medical duties without rest?"

"Give me some credit, sensei." She grumbled.

"Yes or no?" He barked, in full captain mode.

"Yes, sir." She rushed, embarrassed.

"Let's go." He led them in their formation at full speed. It had been a while since Sakura had matched pace with someone as fast as Kakashi, fortunately she was used to it having been in his team many times. Her perfect chakra control allowed her to run and push chakra through her feet without wasting any of her energy.

They arrived in good time without problem and as predicted, they were met by an escort who hurried them to their former leader.

As soon as she walked into the makeshift clinic her demeanour completely changed. Kakashi quickly realised that this woman in front of him was no longer the young naïve girl from his Genin squad, she was in charge here.

"Ok, fill me in. Quickly. Can someone find me some clinical wear please?" She read through the chart and took a verbal handover from the medics in the room as she tied her hair up. An assistant approached her with gloves and plastic cover to protect her front. She removed her jacket to swap and handed this to Kakashi. He took it without hesitation. She scrubbed her hands clean and snapped the gloves on.

Tenzou and Karasu stood at the doorway to attention, guarding the area. Kakashi stood close to Sakura making sure he could protect her from anyone if they turned out to be foe.

She analysed his urine output, his breathing, his heart rate and brain activity before assessing his body with her chakra infused hands.

After 6 solid hours of analysis and blood tests, she finally managed to isolate the poison in his system. It had entered through the base of his foot via a needle, a deadly toxin which fired up the neural network of the target to make them more susceptible to interrogation. At the rate his body was declining she concluded that he only had 48 hours from the point of injection until death. She also suggested that due to the likelihood he was targeted to gain intel, he should have also been kidnapped. The ANBU didn't like this as it meant he was still a target.

"Dr Haruno," one entering the nurses was stopped from the room until they were cleared as a threat. Sakura waved them through.

"The third test sample antidote was successful on the blood poison sample taken 30 minutes ago. I think you've done it."

"Great prepare the IV kit. We need to administer it quickly."

She was stopped by one of the lightning ANBU. "No," he said. "You will test this again in this room before administering."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "I need you to understand that this poison is working quickly and growing in strength like a virus. The antidote may be ineffective after another test or if he goes into organ failure, it might be too late."

"I suggest you test it quickly, doctor."

She got to work as directed and showed them it worked and that it hadn't been tampered with in transit.

It took nearly all her chakra and the antidote to stabilise his condition. She worked tirelessly cleansing his blood and repairing the damage to his heart and lungs. She did what she could on his brain, but wasn't sure if it was enough.

Finally, she took a step back. "It's done. I want hourly observations recorded and someone notify immediately if there are any changes."

"Yes doctor," was the last thing she heard.

Kakashi could sense her depleted chakra and caught her as she collapsed. They took her to the doctor's office next door to recover from the chakra exhaustion. "Sleep, Sakura-chan," he muttered softly. He commanded Tenzou and Karasu to focus their attention on Sakura. Their mission was to save the Raikage and figure out who had poisoned him. They had saved him and their own guard could watch him now. She took priority.

Kakashi went to report in with the current Raikage to advise on their progress.

Sakura blinked awake and remained still as she tried to recall where she'd fallen asleep. She jolted upright once she remembered what had happened.

"Woah, Sakura." Yamato stopped her. "You're still in the Kumogakure clinic. You're safe," it was a simple yet effective sentence all ninja were trained to state to anyone waking from unconsciousness. "The Yondaime Raikage is still stable but not awake. You've been sleeping for 4 hours due to chakra exhaustion." He continued. She relaxed back into the wall next to her so she was sat on the bed opposite him.

"Thank you, taichou." She smiled.

The other ANBU approached. "He's not the captain, you know? You'll give him a big head."

Yamato hung his head and deadpanned. "Karasu."

"You'll always be captain to me Y-Tenzou." The raven masked ninja suddenly realised that maybe she wasn't that much of an outsider on this team. Referring to Inu-taichou as sensei as well Tenzou as taichou.

"Can I get you anything Haruno-hakase?" her teammate offered.

"Kiss ass," Yamato mumbled at his choice of honorific.

"Water, please. I need to see my patient." He poured her a drink and offered it her as she stood to leave.

She was happy with the progress but was hoping to see changes in his brain activity by now.

The poison samples had been sent to every known contact to try and obtain a lead.

Kakashi returned from his mid-mission debrief to update his team on their next stages.

"Sakura," Kakashi interrupted her fourth attempt at reversing the coma. He beckoned her into the side room with a glance so they could discuss their mission privately.

"As you know, this was only the first part to this mission. We already have some possible leads on the source from the sample you pulled which I want to investigate promptly. I am not comfortable leaving you alone with the patient until your 48hour window is over, in case they do try to come back for him. Is he stable enough to leave with their medics now?"

"He is stable, for now. I would rather not leave until we see changes in his brain activity." Sakura told him.

"Is it crucial to the completion of this mission?"

"It's crucial to the welfare of my patient." Her doctor tone was beginning to push through.

Kakashi sighed, her heart was too big for ANBU missions. "We will report in to the current Raikage as a team, to obtain further instruction then. We will not continue the investigations as a fractured cell. "

The Raikage was happy his own doctors and medics could handle it from here and asked them to proceed with their investigation into the poison.

He offered them a suite in one of the hotels not too far from their research centre.

Sakura was grumpy. She never handed off her patients unless it was absolutely critical or they were in recovery.

"I want it noting that I'm objecting to this decision, sensei."

"Yep, duly noted." He disregarded her as he'd done many times before. "Come on so we can plan in the room."

Karasu smirked at their interaction.

"I need to collect my things from the clinic at least and give a proper handover," she insisted.

"Fine."

They collected her things and she pulled back on her flak jacket and rolled up her storage scrolls. After instructing them on after care she was satisfied that all anyone could do now was wait and see what the long term damage was.

The suite had two bedrooms, a bathroom and a living area with a pull out sofa bed. As soon as they'd swept and secured the room, Kakashi moved his mask to sit on top of his head. His teammates took this as permission to remove their own. They quickly got food and drink and sat around the table in the living area to discuss the next steps.

"I'm sorry to rush everything like this but we want to move with haste to try and catch the bastard before they cover their tracks."

"Inu-taichou," Karasu addressed Kakashi, "are we catching the person who's behind this or just tracing the source of the poison. I haven't had sight of the mission objectives." He asked, almost apologetically.

"It was eyes only on the summons." Kakashi reassured his teammate he hadn't missed any intel. "We're focussing on tracing the source to locate them as the Raikage isn't being very forthcoming about a possible motive."

They strategized on the best place to start taking into account Sakura's expertise and the intel gathered. Kakashi allowed his team a few hours to rest up but wanted to head out at 3am.

Sakura was the first to stand from their gathering. "I need to shower," she informed them, heading into the bathroom.

After she was clean, she redressed in her uniform and sought out Kakashi. "I'm guessing you're still a stickler for always having a man on watch?" He turned to look at her. "I've already slept if you all want to get some shut eye first."

He hesitated, "ok. Wake me after and I'll take second watch." Sakura and Kakashi agreed to take the couch so they could swap over on watch duty easily. The other two retired into the rooms.

"Sakura," he called over once he was comfortable.

"Yes?" she called back.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around much to see you succeed."

She smiled over to him, not showing how she really felt. "Don't worry about it, sensei. ANBU clearly keeps you busy."

"Yeah, well, still. I always was a shitty teacher, eh?"

She laughed and smiled back at the man sat on the sofa over from her. She didn't want to make him feel worse by agreeing but she didn't want to lie to him.

"When did you make Jonin?" He asked her. Something was urging him to keep their conversation alive.

Sakura looked over at the clock hanging on the plain wall of the hotel room. "About 22 hours ago. So I don't blame you for missing that one."

A look of relief flashes over his face. "Thank Kami. Well I'm honoured to be on your first mission as a Jonin, Dr Haruno."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei. Sorry, Inu-taichou." She quickly corrected herself, embarrassed about making such a basic slip up. Kakashi didn't seem to care. He didn't have much of an identity to protect anymore, he was famous across the nations. "You know you weren't that shitty. True, I learned most of my techniques from Tsunade-shishou, but your lessons are still at the front of everything I do. Give yourself some credit."

He wasn't a ninja that ever needed validation from anyone but hearing her say that meant everything. "Thank you Sakura." He said earnestly.

"You should get some sleep." She stood and moved away from him, ending their brief conversation. Sakura wasn't sure how to feel about what had just happened. She had always seen Kakashi as her mentor and had never once considered them anywhere near being equals but that last exchange made her feel closer to him than she ever had before.

He traded with her after getting about 90 minutes sleep. She was still recovering from the chakra exhaustion so was grateful to him by the time her watch ended.


	2. Chapter 2

The mission was successful in the sense they managed to pin down the syndicate responsible for the attack. They never managed to get to the bottom of why the Raikage had been targeted although Kakashi knew their employers knew the reason behind it. They received their payments and Sakura also received a job offer to head up their hospital, which she politely declined.

It wasn't until their journey home that the team actually started to get to know one another. Well, until Karasu was officially introduced to Sakura anyway. They set aside 3 days for their journey home without expensive transport scrolls.

Their first night was camping outside in the forests on their village border. Sakura set about finding some food whilst Yamato provided the wood for a fire. Kakashi lit it lazily with a jutsu. Karasu kept watch, feeling like more of an outsider than ever in his own team as they set about their routine.

He braved the conversation first as they gathered around the fire. "So, it's pretty evident that you guys all know one another?" He asked.

Yamato and Sakura waited for Kakashi to answer, more to see if their captain approved them having personal conversations out in the open.

"You could say that yeah, although I can't remember the last time we went on a mission together, can you Sakura-chan?" Kakashi asked her.

"Oh gosh, maybe not since the Akatsuki in sand?" Sakura suggested.

"I'm pretty sure that was me," Yamato chidded in.

"Oh, or was it that escort to snow? Well, this was nice anyway. It's a shame Naruto is still goofing about, it would be nice to get the old team 7 back together. And I haven't heard from Sai in months."

"Sai is back on loan to the new and improved root division last I heard, so that might be difficult and now you're Jonin I very much doubt Naruto will be allowed to join us. Unless he's been promoted?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura shook her head and laughed. "Nope, he's still a Genin. Maybe I take it back, you were a shitty teacher!"

They shared some stories without too much detail into the night. Karasu attempted to flirt with Sakura which didn't go unnoticed by their teammates but they said nothing.

Morning came and they headed out again. Careful not to leave any traces behind.

Kakashi still insisted on protecting Sakura by surrounding her in a guarded formation. Despite her protests. They stopped for a break by a river a few miles outside the nearest town.

"Sakura," Kakashi chastised for breaking formation again as they stopped. The other two tried to give them some privacy.

"Yes, Inu-taichou?" She replied curtly.

"You do realise that my orders aren't just a suggestion? Break formation on purpose again and I will be forced to report you for insubordination."

She said nothing but glared back at her former sensei. "You know I'm part of this team right? Technically second in command and that I'm not the client needing to be guarded?"

"You could have fooled me." He replied back to her very uncharacteristic of his ANBU persona.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She challenged. If Tsunade had taught her anything it was bow to no-one unless necessary.

"Just humour me, please. It's been years since we worked together, as we agreed last night. I don't know what you're capable of and you know I don't take risks when it comes to the lives of my comrades."

"Fine." She begrudgingly agreed.

"Fine." He matched her tone. He wasn't sure why, but she brought out the worst in him.

Kakashi wouldn't allow them to waste money on a room in the town so they continued through and again set up camp. The conversation was less than the previous night. Kakashi agreed to take the first watch.

Sakura couldn't sleep. She climbed the tree above their camp to join him.

"Hey," she whispered, smiling quietly.

"I have a few hours on my watch yet," he told her. His eyes didn't stray from his watch.

"I know, but I couldn't sleep."

She sat next to him in complete silence. There was something about her closeness that calmed him. It was familiar.

After a short while Kakashi finally broke the silence. "What's on your mind?"

"Do you really not trust me, sensei?"

Kakashi sighed and finally met her gaze. She was beautiful in the light. Her soft features illuminated by the moonlight. Despite her feminine looks he couldn't help but notice how the slight strain around her eyes from the stress of her occupation.

"Sakura-chan, of course I trust you."

"You still see me as that idiotic 12 year old, don't you?" He opened his mouth to protest but she stopped him. "You know it's been years since I've had to prove myself to anyone. It's upsetting that you of all people don't believe in me."

"Sakura, I-," he paused. "Sorry?" he shrugged. He didn't want to lie to her.

"Did you ever like us?" she asked, trying to make light of the mood but still trying to probe their deeper conversation. She sensed his confusion at her question. "It's just all the other rookies still have a relationship with their sensei."

"Sure I did. You guys pulled me from a dark place you know? I will be forever grateful for that. I'm not one for personal relationships, Sakura. Don't take it.. personally.."

She put her hand on the area of exposed flesh on his arm in response to him, almost as if to comfort him.

Her warmth was unusually reassuring to him, but it felt wrong. Taboo. He flexed slightly and moved from his crouch. She pulled her hand back, worried she'd crossed the line.

"I'll let you finish this watch. Wake Yamato if you need to be relieved." He landed silently from jumping out of the tree. "Good night, Sakura," he whispered as to not come across too cold.

"Good night, sensei." She mumbled back.

Their final stretch home was silent until they walked through the gates of their village and by sheer coincidence, they bumped into their favourite orange idiot.

"Sakura-chan? Is that you?" He waved over enthusiastically as he signed back in at the desk. He must have only just been ahead of them.

"Naruto, hi." She greeted back.

Naruto eyed up his other former teammates, "hey, since when did you guys all take missions together?" He complained.

"Sakura was promoted to Jonin. Maybe if you stopped slacking off, you could join us to."

Sakura scowled at Kakashi for telling him her news.

"You did? That's awesome Sakura-chan!" He swooped her up into an embrace. "Let's go and celebrate tonight? Dinner at Ichiraku and drinks afterwards."

"We have to debrief." Kakashi stated bluntly.

"Well come afterwards then, I know where you live. Both of you." He pointed to then both back and forth. "Ask baa-chan to get a message to Sai whilst you're there. No excuses Kakashi-sensei. Bring your new teammate."

Kakashi shook his head at Narutos ignorance to the ANBU rules. Sakura scribbled her name on the scroll by the gate. Her comrades didn't have to sign in or out, perks of being ANBU.

"Come on, let's get this over with." Kakashi instructed his team.

"See you later!" Naruto called as he wandered off towards his home.

Kakashi took the lead on starting their verbal report, quickly taken over by Sakura as he realised Tsunade was only interested in the medical aspects.

"I'm pleased you had such a favourable outcome. I want the written report in the next 48 hours. That's you directed at you both Inu and Sakura. I don't want any excuses. I am mandating 48 hours R&R before you're back on the active roster. Dismissed."

They walked out as a team.

"You don't have to come tonight, I won't be offended," Sakura told them cheerfully.

"Nonsense," Yamato said. "We will all be there. You heard Hokage-sama, we have time off. Inu-senpai has some favours to cash in for Sai's whereabouts. We'll see you in a few hours."

It turned out word travelled fast and Sakura was much more popular than she thought. She was midway through her shower when she heard Ino let herself in.

"Forehead, where are you?"

"In here!" Sakura replied. Pausing midway through her second shampoo lather.

"Do you want tea?" Ino shouted.

"Please!" Sakura dunked her head back under the warm water and closed her eyes, allowing the warmth to relax her tight shoulder muscles. Her calves needed ice after the run home, but she knew enough physio stretches to see to them in the morning if she needed to.

Sakura took her time cleaning and shaving her body. She needed the time to be alone with her thoughts.

When she couldn't avoid Ino any longer, she turned off the shower and reached for a towel for her hair through the steam. She shrugged on a towelling robe and went to find her friend.

"So?" Ino demanded when she finally appeared.

"So what?" Sakura queried.

"Naruto said he saw you and Kakashi-sensei returning from a mission and that you made Jonin."

Sakura sighed. "Yeah, Tsunade-shishou told me before we left. It was a rushed field promotion, pre-mission."

"That's fantastic. Does that mean you're finally getting out of that hospital and getting a life?"

"What do you mean getting a life?"

Ino batted her hand towards her friend. "You know what I mean. You basically live there. You work 72 hour shifts in operating rooms. It's not healthy. You need to meet a man."

"Oh not this again," Sakura rolled her eyes, sipping the tea her friend had made her.

"Yes, this. Now hurry up and put something nice on so we can eat and get drunk."

Sakura let Ino fix up her hair and makeup before she stepped into a dress that her mother had bought her for her birthday.

Sakura had to admit, she hadn't looked this nice for a long time. It was quite liberating.

She met Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru and Yamato at Ichiraku's. They ate their food and drank a few beers each before moving on to one of the ninja bars down the street. She was pleasantly surprised to see so many familiar faces all waiting for her.

She scanned the room and saw some of the other rookies and their sensei's, Iruka, Genma, Shizune, finally her eyes rested on a table in the far corner. Kakashi was sitting with Sai seemingly deep in conversation.

Her heart fluttered a little.

"Oh you guys," she turned to Naruto, teary eyed. "Thank you, Naruto."

"Drink for Doctor Jonin please!" he ordered her a celebratory champagne and toasted to his closest friend. "I'm so proud of you Sakura-chan." He grinned.

She found herself drunk enough to pluck up the courage to speak to Kakashi. He hadn't moved from his spot. She plonked herself in front of him, already flushed in the face.

"Congratulations again. What are they calling you? Doctor Jonin?"

She rolled her eyes and took a swig of her drink. "That's the one. I'm glad you came Kakashi-sensei, I'm sorry I let you down on our last mission." She pouted, "I wanted to impress you when we finally got to work together again."

"Sakura, what are you talking about? You didn't let me down. You were the only person in an entire country that could save one of their leaders. I'm in awe of you Sakura."

"Really?" Her eyes opened wide. Making her look more and more childlike.

He nodded. "Really."

They were interrupted by the 4th member of Team Inu.

"Karasu," she slurred.

"Hakkuki," he reintroduced himself.

"Hakk-hic-uki-san. Would you like a drink? Kakashi-sensei is buying, for a job well done."

"Kakashi-sensei is not buying. Kakashi-sensei is leaving." He stood smoothly and finished his drink. "Sakura-chan should think about slowing down on the alcohol."

"Don't you Sakura-chan me," she pouted.

"My apologies Doctor Haruno." He joked sarcastically.

She smiled and told the ANBU to meet her at the bar so she good say a proper goodbye to Kakashi.

She followed him out the front door and caught Shikamaru smoking. "Kakashi wait."

He stopped and turned to her. The fresh air was quite sobering.

She'd forgotten what she wanted to say. They looked into one another's eyes before she stuttered. "Thank you. For coming. It was good to see you."

She waited for his response.

"Let's not leave it so long next time, 'kay?"

"I won't if you don't." She smiled and waved him off before heading back inside.

Sakura introduced Hakkuki to some of her friends. The night continued and before she realised it Sakura was accepting a walk home from the ANBU. Which had been greatly encouraged by Ino.

She stopped nervously outside her front door. "Would you like to come in for a drink?" She offered. Had he been slightly more sober, he would have declined. His better judgement was somewhere in the bar between shot 4 and 5 having been coaxed into a drinking game with Naruto.

She wished she'd cleaned up her mission gear more. Her packs had been repacked but her scrolls and headband were strewn across her dining room table. Her living room had a coffee table which was littered with medical journals. Her hallway was lined with commendations of all kinds.

"I don't have much." She admitted. "Sake or coffee."

"I'll take one of each."

She made one of each for herself as well and scooped up some of the medical journals from her coffee table. Apologizing for the mess.

He stood near to her admiring the weaponry. "So, I still never fully got to the bottom of how you know Inu-taichou and Yamato-san."

"Kakashi-sesnei was my squad leader as a genin, team 7. With Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. You're ANBU so you must know his story?" She asked but didn't wait for his response. "Kakashi-sesnei went off and did more ANBU assignments again whilst the 3 of us trained with a Sabin each. Then Yamato took over the team a few years back and Sai joined. That's it really." She shrugged. She wasn't sure why she was being this open with him but it wasn't exactly a secret.

"You trained under Tsunade-sama?"

She nodded.

They continued to talk about nothing in particular but the conversation flowed, washed down with more Sake. Then before she consciously realised what was happening she was kissing him. It was a messy uncontrolled kiss from both parties. Fueled by the passion of alcohol.

As their kiss grew, he found himself feeling up her thighs and under her dress and pushing himself against her.

"Sakura-chan," he moaned.

"No, no Sakura-chan," she complained. It didn't feel like an endearing term, it made her feel like a child. In this moment she wanted to feel like a woman.

"Sakura-hakase," he tried again. She giggled at this. He continued his venture up her thighs and hesitated before braving to go near her underwear.

"Do you want to?" he asked nervously.

"Yes," she replied. She wasn't sure she did want him but she knew she wanted the release.

Their encounter was over fairly quickly compared to their build up. It wasn't bad sex but it wasn't anything to brag about. Probably due to the amount of alcohol consumed. They were both semi satisfied and lay back on her couch. Their conversation seemed to dry up. She offered him a bed on her couch for the night which he politely declined and instead headed for home.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura didn't regret sleeping with him and she hadn't wanted him to stay but she felt lonely all of a sudden. She decided to take another shower and she sat in the tub allowing the water to engulf her, hiding a few tears. She grabbed the towel that she'd dried her hair with earlier and finally fell asleep with it under her head.

Sakura was woken by a knocking on the door, swiftly followed by Ino getting into bed behind her.

"You look like shit, Sakura."

"Mmmph," Sakura mumbled in response. She raised her head and tried to figure out what was going on with her wet hair and now wet pillow.

"So, how was your night in the end?" Ino pushed.

Sakura buried her head in her arms.

"Oh my god, you totally slept with him didn't you?"

"Shut up," she mumbled inaudibly.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better Sai isn't a virgin anymore."

Surprisingly, it did make her feel better. She snapped her eyes open and looked up at her friend questioningly. "You didn't corrupt his innocence? Poor Sai."

"Ha! Poor Sai. No such thing. Boy had clearly done his research I can tell you that."

Sakura tried to shake away the mental image but ended up making her head worse. She got out of bed and scrambled to the bathroom. She cleaned her teeth and drank some water, groaning at her appearance.

"Here, brush my hair whilst I work out the hangover," she threw the brush at her friend and sat on the floor as she flushed the alcohol through her system. Ino obliged and talked at her friend until she was in a semi presentable state.

Sakura realised there was nothing she could do about the bags under her eyes, but at least she wasn't holding back vomit anymore.

The two girls decided to go for breakfast together and catch up on life. After they'd eaten, Ino swept out of her space as quickly as she'd swept in. Sakura was used to the whirlwind that was Ino and moved to carry on with her day. Following the mission, she remembered she didn't have any official scrolls to write up her report on, so she headed to the Hokage tower.

After picking up the scroll from the resourcing team, she made her way to her office in the hospital to complete the report. She knew if she tried to write it at home she'd just get distracted and it would take her all day.

"Sakura-san," one the medics greeted her. "Tsunade-sama said you'd be off for another few days still?"

"I'm not technically here but I had a few patients I wanted to catch up on and a report to fill out. I'll be in my office." She smiled at the medic who's name she couldn't remember. She'd seen her temping a few times but hadn't directly worked with her. It had taken Sakura a while to get used to more people knowing who she was than she knew people.

Sakura hadn't planned on standing around to idly chat until the medic said, "one of your boys is here for appointment, I thought you might be checking in."

"Oh? Which one? I saw them all last night and they were ok. Nothing serious I hope?" Sakura frowned and caught a glimpse of the medics name badge as she turned more of her focus on them.

"Oh, sorry I thought you knew. Forget I said anything." The medic blushed, hoping she hadn't breached something confidential.

"Tell me Anu-san," Sakura pushed.

"Well, I think Sayuri-san has Kakashi-sama in exam room 4b. Please don't say I told you though." She pleaded.

"Not to worry, thank you for letting me know." Sakura changed her course and headed for the exam room. She didn't think Kakashi had been injured on their mission.

She knocked on the door and waited. Sayuri, a younger medic answered the door. "Sakura-sempai, I didn't think you were around this week?"

Sakura pushed past the medic and into the room, shutting the door behind them. Kakashi glanced up with a bored expression on his face. His headband was on the side, leaving his eye exposed and he read his book minding his own business.

Sakura held her hand out, demanding the chart.

"Umm," Sayuri held on to it hesitantly.

"You may as well just give it to her now she knows I'm here. We both know she won't leave." Kakashi told the medic, his tone was dry but there was an element of humour in it that only Sakura picked up on. Sayuri handed over the chart and Sakura dismissed her.

Sayuri gathered her things and quickly scurried away.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said angrily. "Really? You're avoiding my medical talents now too?"

"No, you should be on leave and I didn't want to worry you Sakura-chan." He told her dismissively.

She sighed loudly and flicked through his chart. "You've been having problems with your eyes again?" Her tone moved from angry to one of concern. "We've just spent the last few days together, why didn't you tell me? I could have taken a look."

He shrugged, "time and a place. Your skills were needed elsewhere. I think I'm what you folks like to refer to as an outpatient. Not exactly critical, eh?"

Sakura ignored him and pulled up a stool. She set as close to him as she could to allow her to examine his eyes. She picked up a tool and held it up. "May I?"

He looked at her as if to say, 'really? Now you're asking?' She rolled her eyes and gently pulled up his eyelid to look in his normal eye. She shone the light and asked him to look left right up and down, she repeated the process with his sharingan eye before sitting back and making some notes.

Her touch relaxed him and he enjoyed feeling so at ease. It was rare for him.

"So, what's the problem you've been having?" She asked him, breaking the silence.

"You tell me," he challenged her.

"Well, it looks as though your muscles and chakra coils are irritating one another, so my guess would be you're experiencing some mild discomfort or pain and you're having patches of blurred vision. Your sharingan is putting more pressure on your optic nerve too, which isn't ideal."

"Good observation," He told her. He already knew this, he'd been having mandatory check-ups as ordered by Tsunade.

"I keep telling you, I'm quite good. How long has this been going on?" She asked.

He sighed and looked her in the eyes, giving her his full attention. "To be honest, it's been happening since I got the Sharingan. But, I'm not getting any younger and the last few months I've noticed it more. You know me, I just get on with it."

He was right, he did just get on with things. Which is why this was so concerning to Sakura. She could tell he was worried.

"Well, optometry wasn't my chosen choice of specialty but I have been looking for a new research project. Will you let me look into this for you?" She asked, almost pleading with her former sensei. He studied her face in the bright lights. Even hungover she was pretty. There was something honest about her face, the subtle confidence she had in her appearance was refreshing.

"Don't worry about me. You should be focussing your talents on something worthwhile. Besides, you know I hate hospitals so I would make a terrible test subject." He tried to dismiss her concern, knowing there were plenty of other medics to fail at fixing the implanted eye.

Sakura sighed, she wouldn't be defeated this easily. No matter how hungover, "I want you to come directly to me for all your future appointments." She insisted.

"Sakura, seriously it's not that big of a deal. I can still see."

"Mmm," she didn't agree. She spun on the stool to write something more in his chart. "For now." There was a brief silence whilst she finished writing. "Even if this wasn't personal, you're an asset to this village and if you're going to continue going on missions, your vision will need monitoring to make sure you're up for active duty. We don't want that Sharingan getting in to the wrong hands."

"Spoken like a Hokage's apprentice," he rolled his eyes away from her.

"Kakashi, I'm serious here. What do I have to say to make you believe me?" The lack of sensei did it for him, but he didn't let on.

"Look, I've already promised Tsunade that I'll come to these check-ups every few months. I'm here. But seriously don't waste your talents on trying to fix this. It's not worth it." He stood and went to reach for his headband.

She went to stop him but stopped before her hand touched his arm. They both paused for a moment before she moved back towards the paperwork.

"See you around then, maybe," she sighed deflated.

Kakashi slipped out the exam room, he wasn't sure how to feel around his grown up student. It was a strange mix of emotions, she calmed him and made him feel on edge at the same time. He felt proud but yet still protective. She was one of the few people who he cared for deeply and one of the few people who knew the real Kakashi.

Kakashi headed to the Hokage tower via the memorial stone to clear his head. He handed in his poorly written report that consisted of a few sentences:

'Arrived without trouble. Sakura fixed client. Traced to local Syndicate. Motive not uncovered.'

Tsunade glanced at the report then back to Kakashi.

"Useless as always Hatake," she chastised. He simply shrugged in response. "I take it from this you didn't manage to see Sakura in action? I was worried she might be a bit rusty after years in the hospital."

Kakashi looked at the woman, angry by her comments. "With all due respect Hokage-sama, why was she promoted if you weren't sure of her abilities?"

Tsunade made a dismissive noise. "Nothing you ever say is with respect. She's been Jonin ready for years - which you'd know if you took any interest. Now, have you had your eyes checked recently?"

He nodded, "just this morning, Sakura saw to it herself." Kakashi knew he was throwing her under the bus with that comment but he got the feeling she didn't take off as much time as she should.

"Oh that girl never stops," Tsunade grumbled. "Shizune," she shouted, "drag Sakura here will you?"

Kakashi turned to make his exit but was stopped by Tsunade. "No, you wait." Kakashi watched the world out the window of the hokage tower whilst Tsunade snuck in a drink of Sake in Shizune's absence.

Shizune appeared half an hour later with a bedraggled Sakura.

Tsunade quickly threw the cup under her desk and snapped at her apprentice. "Sakura. Whilst I'm pleased you've been checking his eyes. I told you to take 48hours off. Why were you in the hospital?" Tsunade demanded.

Sakura glared at Kakashi, who wasn't sure what he was still doing there. "Sell out," she snapped at him. "I went to fill out my report, shishou."

"Kakashi, Sakura, I have been needing to do this for a while, but I think it would be in both your best interests to form a 2 man Jonin squad."

They both opened their mouths to protest but were stopped.

"Not up for discussion." Tsunade silenced them, "this is one of the better ideas I've had for a while." She smiled cynically. "I'd planned on telling you next week, but now seems like the ideal time."

Sakura protested anyway, "what about my patients? My research?"

"You can keep an eye on Kakashi, you know how reckless he can be. You can handover your current patients, we have other medics. If you're needed, I will summon you. The village can't afford to have any trained shinobi not out on missions at the moment."

"Shisho-"

"Not up for discussion. Now do you have that completed report with you?"

"Yes, shishou. Here." She handed over the report, pouting.

"The 48 hours still stands. I can't stop you from training together but stay away from the Hospital and headquarters until afterwards. You're both dismissed."

"Tsunade-sama-" Kakashi was about to protest. Their agreement for him re-joining ANBU had been under the presumption he would be in ANBU until they found and retrieved Saskue.

"Dismissed, shinobi" Tsunade snapped in an attempt to remind Kakashi of his place.

Sakura was used to Tsunade's mood and didn't react to her power play. She turned to Kakashi to see when he might want to meet but he'd already disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Arg!" she stomped out of the office and back to her home.


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura's mood was festering even more on her journey home, she made it through her front door to be greeted by clutter which angered her even more. With nowhere else to go, she decided to clean up and sort through her medical journals and scattered paperwork. Trying to make the most of the time off.

Sakura didn't mind her own company, she spent so much time focusing on her career she was used to her own thoughts. As she meticulously went through the books and recorded them on her shelves she began to realise that she had become a bit of a recluse. Maybe Ino was right, she needed to get a life.

After her organising was completed she headed out of her, now clean, apartment in search of company. Ino wasn't home or at the flower shop so she carried on to Narutos. He wasn't home either. She didn't fancy heading over to the Hyuuga compound and so headed back home to change so she could train.

Sakura grabbed some senbon from her weapons stash so she could work on her technique and headed to training ground 3 to make the most of the targets that were usually set up.

Sakura did a light warm up and began practicing her aim. She knew many vital points on the human body so if she could perfect her aim, she might be able to add a long range combat style to accompany her close range strength.

As with everything she did she threw herself into repetitively learning the techniques. Although she wasn't really sure if she was doing it right.

As the sun was starting to set she let out a frustrated noise. She still wasn't getting the angles she wanted. She went to collect them back up again. As she retook her position to throw them again, a voice interrupted her.

"You're holding them wrong," it said.

"Wha-Kakashi-sensei is that you? How long have you been there?" she asked angrily.

"I'm disappointed you couldn't tell."

Sakura threw the senbon angrily at the target, with more force than necessary. She sighed when it had embed halfway in and turned to her partner, "What do you want?"

"To talk," he admitted.

"So talk," she said, throwing another.

Kakashi sighed back and flickered to stand near her. "You're throwing it like a kunai. Hold it like a hammer and keep your wrist stiff." He instructed her.

Sakura did what he said and threw it, her aim slightly off from her last throw. "Have you just come to watch how inferior I am?"

"No-" he protested. "I just thought you'd appreciate the pointer. I copied that technique from that Haku kid. I really did want to talk?" He offered.

She threw another using his technique again and this time hit the target more how she wanted. She was secretly pleased with her progress and went to collect up the last few she'd thrown. Dispute the progress, she'd had enough.

Sakura walked back over to him taking her gloves off and stuffing them in her pocket. "So, let's talk," she said.

They walked to the edge of the training ground. She sat on the rocks lining the small pond, he leant against them with his arms folded.

"I didn't know she was going to do that," Kakashi admitted, talking about Tsunade sticking them on the same team.

"Me neither. Sorry," she said.

"Sorry?" He asked unsure what the apology was for.

"I can't imagine this is what you wanted. You've made it quite clear that you think I'm incompetent and not fit for active duty."

"Sakura, don't be stupid. I don't think you're incompetent. As a team captain, I didn't want you to end up in a compromising position because I'd guessed your skill level. I told you it was nothing personal. If anything, it's my fault for not checking in with you every now and again. I should be the one apologizing."

She sighed, again feeling stupid.

"Why senbon?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject.

"I don't have as many long range attacks as I'd like," she explained. Sakura went on to explain how if she could throw a senbon at a certain part of the body she could fake death or cause instant paralysis or even death. "I've been meaning to practice the skill for a while but never found the time." She shifted her position slightly more to face him. "If I'm not in surgery or with patients, I was studying. You know I've nearly completed the strength of a hundred seal? It's taken me nearly 3 years."

"Seriously? Wow. Not even Shizune mastered that. That takes some skill and serious chakra control." Kakashi was genuinely impressed.

She shrugged off his compliment. "I have a good teacher," clearly meaning Tsunade and not Kakashi.

"Harsh," he said, his eye slightly crinkly as he smiled in agreement. "Are you ok?" He asked, "with being on a team with me?" He added for clarification.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

Kakashi shrugged. "You just don't seem very happy about it? I know I haven't been a very good mentor, we've established that. I always thought we made a good team though?"

"Honestly, I never saw myself going back out on missions. I don't want to feel like I'm dragging you down."

"Sakura, you made Jonin on your own merit. You're a doctor. You're a leader in the hospital. You're the Hokages apprentice. You have more titles than I do and as hard as it is for me to admit that I didn't contribute to that, don't ever think you'd be dragging anyone down by being on a team with them. Look, let's not rehash all this. Let's meet tomorrow and train together properly. You hungry?" Kakashi stood and shifted his weight back onto his feet.

"I am. I hate having time off. I never know what to do." She complained.

"I can relate."

They ate BBQ together and tried to push through the awkwardness. Sakura called it a night early as she was still tired from the previous night. "Please don't be late tomorrow," she told him as she headed back towards her apartment.

Morning came and Sakura was actually feeling a little excited. She wore a pink top with black training shorts and scowled at herself for not owning better training gear. She pulled her gloves on and wrapped her legs to accommodate the weapon pouch.

She was pleased to see Kakashi waiting for her when she arrived.

"Someone hand me a camera, noone will ever believe me," she laughed as she approached him.

"What can I say? I wanted to make a good impression on my new teammate." He smirked under his mask.

Sakura stretched her muscles out, waiting for Kakashi to give a direction. He had more experience than she did and was still the captain and superior of the two man squad by his rank.

"Shall we just do taijutsu only first?" He offered.

"Ok. No ninjutsu then." She agreed, moving to the middle of the field. "That means substitutions. No Sharingan."

"Ok," he agreed. "Don't kill me with a chakra infused kick then."

She let out a snort. Like she'd even be able to get close enough to land a blow.

They fought and they fought hard. Sakura twisted and kicked. Kakashi had speed and agility but Sakura had strength and his hits didn't have much effect on her. She could protect her body using her chakra almost like armour.

Sakura managed to land a kick square in his chest sending him skidding backwards. He panted trying to recover, as did she. They both took a minute to breath before running back to each other, exchanging only blows and not words.

Kakashi won their battle had Sakura pinned on the floor, holding her arm twisted upwards against her back. She laughed, panting, defeated. "Ok, I'm calling it. You win." Sakura shifted under his weight as he basically sat on her.

Kakashi released her, "thank god," he panted back putting his hand behind his head. He sat back, putting some distance between them.

She pushed herself back up off the floor and stepped towards him. "Let me heal you." She offered.

Kakashi let her heal what felt like a cracked rib, moving his jacket to the side. He watched over the concentration in her face as she knitted his bones back together, her green eyes squinting. She truly was incredible, he felt a pang of guilt again for being the one who has made her feel worthless. Not only was she an excellent shinobi, she was extraordinarily beautiful.

Sakura hadn't noticed him studying her face. She smiled once she was done and sat back to admire her handiwork.

Their eyes locked together and they held each other's gaze for a lingering moment.

"Thank you," he pulled away covering himself back up.

After a beat, Sakura decided to change the subject. "Naruto asked me to recommend him for the Chunin exam. I think it nearly killed him to do so but he's sick of C and D ranks."

"What did you tell him?" Kakashi asked, amused.

"I told him that as you're still his assigned sensei, he needs to ask you first. I'm not stupid enough to realise that sponsoring him means a few months in Suna and finding him a team."

"Why do you think I only approve people for exams when they're in Konoha?" He gave her a cheeky look.

"Honestly Kakashi-sensei, you're unbelievable. You're supposed to be an elite." Sakura shook her head at her teacher's blatant laziness.


End file.
